House passes lottery bill, sends to HutchinsonLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas lawmakers have passed and sent to Gov. Asa Hutchinson a bill that would abolish the independent lottery commission and instead place it under Hutchinson's control. The state House voted 84-3 Tuesday to endorse shifting responsibility for the games' operations to the state Department of Finance and Administration. The existing nine-member Lottery Commission would be dissolved and the governor would appoint a games di...

Harrison judge responds health inspection of courthouseHARRISON (AP) — Boone County Judge Robert Hathaway has responded to the Arkansas Department of Health inspection report that shows several health concerns in a 108-yeal-old county courthouse. The Harrison Daily Times reported that Hathaway acknowledged the symptoms like headaches, dizziness, nausea, sneezing, and coughing that employees have experienced, but said that the situation was not as bad as the report suggested. The judge told his emp...

House committee rejects car cellphone regulationsLITTLE ROCK (AP) — A dashboard video showing a state trooper narrowly avoiding a head-on collision with a driver who was using a cellphone wasn't enough to sway an Arkansas House committee that tougher laws are needed. The Public Transportation Committee voted 11-7 on Tuesday against a bill that would have prohibited people from using cellphones without hands-free devices to dial a phone number, use social media or utilize a map application wh...

Hutchinson signs measure expanding computer science classesLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson has signed into law a measure requiring public high schools to offer computer science courses in the coming school year. Hutchinson signed the bill Tuesday, following through on a campaign promise he says was inspired by his 12-year-old granddaughter learning computer coding. Hutchinson, a Republican, was elected in November. The new law gives districts the option of offering the courses in-perso...

House panel to consider Robert E. Lee memorial dayLITTLE ROCK (AP) — An Arkansas lawmaker plans to revive an attempt to separate the state's practice of honoring civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr. and Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee on the same day by creating a memorial day for Lee. A similar bill failed twice to advance out of the House State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee after an outpouring of public comment from people who said the change belittles southern heritage. De...

Body found after fire extinguished at Vilonia mobile homeVILONIA — Central Arkansas authorities say a body was found after firefighters extinguished a fire at a mobile home this weekend. The Faulkner County Sheriff's Office says it has determined the Sunday incident to be a possible homicide from the evidence collected at the scene. The identity of the victim hasn't been released. The Vilonia and Hilltop Fire Departments responded to the Vilonia residence, where firefighters discovered the body in o...

Arkansas prison program pairs inmates, mentors for changeLITTLE ROCK — A faith-based program inside an Arkansas prison matches inmates with outside mentors in an attempt to change the course of the inmates' lives. Pathway to Freedom is housed in a facility operated by the Arkansas Department of Corrections at Wrightsville, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported Sunday. The pre-release program serves 200 inmates, violent and nonviolent, and provides a stringent, boot-camp-like curriculum that include...

7 Little Rock elementary schools to get greenhousesLITTLE ROCK — Seven Little Rock elementary schools soon will get greenhouses as part of a joint city and school district effort to teach students about eating healthy foods. The greenhouses will be installed next month at Carver, Booker, Mabelvale, Geyer Springs, Romine, Bale and Franklin elementary schools. The greenhouses will cost just under $14,000 total, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported. A $25,000 award the city won last year from t...

Fire destroys 3 buildings at former theme park in ArkansasMARBLE FALLS — North Arkansas authorities say a fire has destroyed three buildings at a former theme park. The Newton County sheriff's office received a report early Sunday about a fire at Dogpatch USA, a former attraction based on Al Capp's "Li'l Abner" comic strip. It closed in 1993. Glenn Wheeler, fire chief of the Krooked Kreek Volunteer Fire Department, says one building already was destroyed and two others were engulfed in flames when fi...

Arkansas authorities investigating tractor-trailer break-insLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Multiple law enforcement agencies are working together to investigate a string of tractor-trailer break-ins and cargo thefts in eastern Arkansas. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that more than 80 tractor-trailers have been broken into in Crittenden, Mississippi and St. Francis counties since late December. Items have been stolen from at least 15 vehicles. In January, 102 firearms were stolen from an 18-wheeler when it ...

Death of trucker found at weigh station ruled accidentalHOPE (AP) — Authorities say the death of a truck driver from Mississippi who was found at a weigh station in southwestern Arkansas was accidental. Hempstead County Sheriff James Singleton told the Texarkana Gazette the death of 44-year-old Anthony Wayne Azlin of Etta, Mississippi, was ruled by the state medical examiner to be accidental carbon monoxide poisoning. Arkansas Highway Police Officer Doug Lafferty told deputies that he found Azlin d...

Lawsuit filed over state takeover of Little Rock schoolsLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Three former Little Rock School Board members and a resident are suing Arkansas Education Commissioner Tony Wood and the state Board of Education in an effort to overturn the state takeover of the Little Rock district. The lawsuit was filed Friday in Pulaski County Circuit Court on behalf of former board members Dianne Curry, Jim Ross and C.E. McAdoo and resident Doris Pendleton. The state board had no authority to take over...

Officials warn of canceled highway projectsLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Voter-approved proposals have helped Arkansas weather declines in state and federal highway funding, and transportation officials are working with state lawmakers on a long-term solution before the proposals expire and projects stall. The Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department has increased spending by nearly 70 percent from 2008 to 2013, according to the Federal Highway Administration's annual highway statisti...

Flags at half-staff in honor Korean War soldierLITTLE ROCK (AP) — United States and Arkansas flags are flying at half-staff in honor of a Korean War soldier whose remains were recently identified and returned to the state. Gov. Asa Hutchinson ordered the flags be flown at half-staff from sunrise to sunset on Saturday to honor and in memory of Cpl. C.G. Bolden of Clinton. Bolden was taken prisoner in South Korea in January 1951 and is believed to have died about three months later of starva...

Professor, 2 others dead in what police call murder-suicideMAUMELLE (AP) — A University of Arkansas at Little Rock professor, his wife and his sister have been found dead in their burning home in Maumelle in what police say appears to be a murder-suicide. The bodies were found by firefighters about 10 p.m. Friday. Police say the body of one woman was found near the front door, another woman was found in a bedroom and the man was found in the living room. Police told reporters that each victim was shot...

Authorities seek nephew of slain Sweet Home womanSWEET HOME (AP) — The Pulaski County Sheriff's Office says detectives are searching for the nephew of a Sweet Home woman who was found dead in her home. The department said in a news release that Houston Henry, 55, is wanted for capital murder the death of Joyce Taylor, 77. Taylor was found dead in her home Feb. 13 by deputies who were asked to check on her welfare. The department says only that Taylor did not die of natural causes and Lt. Chr...

University president opposes highway funding billLITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — The president of the Arkansas State University System says a bill to compensate for dwindling highway maintenance and construction funding would be "catastrophic" for higher education in the state. Charles Welch told the system Board of Trustees on Friday that he opposed the bill approved a day earlier by the House Public Transportation Committee. The measure would gradually divert the money from the state's general re...

1 dead in traffic accident from wintry weatherLITTLE ROCK (AP) — A 17-year-old boy died Friday in an Arkansas traffic accident related to rain, sleet and snow from an artic high pressure system bringing wintry weather until Saturday afternoon. Rogers police said the boy, whose identity wasn't released, died after the vehicle he was in slid off of an icy road and into Lake Atalanta. Two others in the car escaped and alerted authorities. State safety and transportation authorities didn't re...

German steel company to buy vacant buildingOSCEOLA (AP) — The Osceola City Council agreed on the proposed sale of a vacant building to the German steel company SMS. The council voted Thursday to sell the $12 million factory that was opened by German-based steel company Beckmann Volmer in 2011, The Jonesboro Sun reported. SMS would complement the Big River Steel mill that is expected to open in Osceola within the next few years. SMS expects to supply $600 million of steel mill equipment...